Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Sean Manuel hired as UNLV football strength coach

Bishop Gorman Practice

Sam Morris

Bishop Gorman assistant coach Sean Manuel talks with linemen during practice at Damonte Ranch High School Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 before their state championship game against Reed High School on Saturday.

With the start of spring football practice less than a week away, UNLV has filled its final vacancy on the coaching staff, as Sean Manuel has been hired as the Rebels’ strength and conditioning coach.

Manuel has been the strength coach at Bishop Gorman since 2010, so UNLV head coach (and former Gorman czar) Tony Sanchez should be quite familiar with his work.

The position opened up two weeks ago, when Keith Belton left the program to become assistant strength coach at USC. Strength and conditioning has been a priority for Sanchez since he took over at UNLV, and he often cites the need for the Rebels’ players to become bigger and stronger.

Manuel has been with Sanchez since the beginning. They were teammates once upon a time at New Mexico State, and when Sanchez got his first head coaching job at California High School, he brought in Manuel as his strength coach.

Manuel played one season in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, and he was on staff for all of Bishop Gorman’s seven consecutive state championships (2010-16).

Spring practice opens on Wednesday, and UNLV’s annual spring game will be April 1.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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